Sunday, July 13, 2014

Welcome to a special Designer Crafts Connection Bloghop dedicated to all things Burlap. I'm very excited to have an opportunity to create using the wonderful products from BurlapFabric.com. I have so many projects in the works - some being "REPURPOSED". I'm beautifying items for functionality and organization in my studio {a room that is currently getting a much needed overhaul}.

Join us July 13th through 20th for this blog hop promoting Burlap Fabric. Burlap is so popular in crafts and decorating and we will be sharing some wonderful ideas and projects using it... there will also be a giveaway too {scroll down for Rafflecopter entry info}.

For my project today, I have altered this generic dry erase board that lives under my craft table... mainly out of sight and out of mind. It would be really nice if it could serve as a dual purpose - the backside being a bulletin board.

When I received the generous assortment of burlap fabrics from BurlapFabric.com for this event... I was thrilled to have received a purple check burlap trim and also some 14" wide burlap fabric!! I knew exactly what to do. Make another faux palette piece for my studio. I have a couple fun projects in the works with the yards of red burlap fabric too.

First thing I needed to cut a piece of foam core to mount into the backside of the frame to use as a bulletin board. Since I will be mounting the strips of burlap horizontally like a wooden palette would be, I will be able to use pushpins as well as clips.

Using some 3M Spray Adhesive, I mounted the foam core to the backside of the dry erase board. This just happened to fit the depth perfectly - aligning flush with the edge of the frame. Now I'm ready to alter this in a similar fashion to a 24" x 36" inspiration quote board I made a while back for my studio and was a huge project, because I created the whole thing from scratch {CLICK HERE to view}.

Before I started mounting the burlap strips, I wanted to give a wash of color to the stark white foam core so that I wouldn't notice it through the weave of the burlap fabric.

Using Vintage Photo Ranger Distress Stain, I swiped the dauber to apply color over the entire sheet of foam core. I'm not concerned at how it looks, I just don't want any white showing through the burlap. This did the trick and the large burlap fabric made this project easy to complete in under two hours {including the primping for photos}.

The burlap fabric I'm using is 14" wide by 10 yards. I can make several of these if I want! I cut three sections the length of the board with approximately 3" overhang on each side. Then I cut each of these sections into thirds lengthwise.

To help keep the strips folded in thirds, I applied strips of masking tape. Final step is the stapling. I started along one edge, then on the opposite edge - alternating and working towards the center; adjusting the widths as I filled in.I laid one strip across the board and wrapped the overhang around the side, setting with a staple gun loaded with 1/2" staples. I folded over the excess and stapled in place giving the faux wood board look {as in photo above}. I flipped over to the opposite edge, pulling the burlap strip taught, and repeated the stapling. To cover this board I used nine strips that are approximately 2 1/4" high. Using a regular stapler, I set some staples across the length which disappear into the burlap texture to help prevent sagging over time. I may go back and add some fabric glue to tack it down permanently later on.

Now for the FUN PART... adding all the stuff that's cluttering my desktop that needs to be properly displayed!

My dry erase board now has a dual function which matches my studio inspiration quote board which is a larger faux palette piece... and will certainly be utilized instead of being stashed under the desk.

Thanks for visiting. Continue on the Designer Crafts Connection "BURLAP" Bloghop by selecting hop back/forward on the logo below. The next stop on the hop is "Life in the Craft Lane™" with Julie McGuffie. Enjoy all the wonderful Burlap inspiration! Sb :)

Vice-Chair of AFCI Designer Section

My Button Fairy project is featured in the book:

WELCOME to the blog for sbartist (Susan M. Brown) - mixed media artist and graphic designer.I frequently lurk around in the dark creating art while all in the world are asleep. What will I dream up next...